There are also no blue pigments in any plant. The various blueish flowers use other tricks to reflect blue light.
Why blue animals are so rare
41–50 of 72 posts
Re: Why blue animals are so rare
#42The linked post— https://set.adelaide.edu.au/news/list/2019/08/20/why-is-the-... >—is much better about answering the question, rather than listing some examples. Basically: - Blue is rare in plants since it means leaving high energy behind. - Many animals are a color because of there food, and see above. - Thus, any blue is trickier, and usually done via scattering and mixing rather than a pigment. "The only excepti…
> "The only exception in nature is the obrina olivewing butterfly, which is the only known animal to produce a true blue pigment." That is a bold claim, but a false one. A few butterfly species share that pigment. Mussels also have other blue pigments based in carothenes that don't depend on iridiscence.
Also, there is a snail that was revered millennia ago for some blue ink that could be extracted from it. Several religions, notably Judaism among them because it is still around today, attach significance to this difficult-to-obtain colour.
Re: Why blue animals are so rare
#43The article mentions plants too. But I can list a number of blue plants in my vicinity (OK, sometimes a touch of purple too) or even in the garden: [Centaurea cyanus]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurea_cyanus?wprov=sfla1 ) [Digitalis]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalis?wprov=sfla1 ) [Centaurea]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurea?wprov=sfla1 ) [Scabiosa]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scabiosa?wprov=…
Some flowers are blue indeed.
They are made to stand out, so it is like they are a purposeful exception to the rule
Re: Why blue animals are so rare
#44Re: Why blue animals are so rare
#45My favorite blue animal: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=h_&q=Dendrobates+Tinctorius+Azureu...
Glaucus atlanticus
Re: Why blue animals are so rare
#46Reminder to everyone: Plants are green(On earth) because they reflect the green color (which the sun spectrum is strongest) because they have probably adapted to better regulate different lightning condition during the day, for this they use two different pigments (chlorophyll a(blue), chlorophyll b(red); or other pairs)
One of the best ways to improve crop yields via genetic engineering might be to create black plants.
Re: Why blue animals are so rare
#47Reminder to everyone: Plants are green(On earth) because they reflect the green color (which the sun spectrum is strongest) because they have probably adapted to better regulate different lightning condition during the day, for this they use two different pigments (chlorophyll a(blue), chlorophyll b(red); or other pairs)
One of the best ways to improve crop yields via genetic engineering might be to create black plants.
If that was optimal, I would expect it would be the standard by now. Not through genetic engineer, but through basic evolution over millions of years.
Re: Why blue animals are so rare
#48The article mentions plants too. But I can list a number of blue plants in my vicinity (OK, sometimes a touch of purple too) or even in the garden: [Centaurea cyanus]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurea_cyanus?wprov=sfla1 ) [Digitalis]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalis?wprov=sfla1 ) [Centaurea]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurea?wprov=sfla1 ) [Scabiosa]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scabiosa?wprov=…
Blue flowers are extremely common because pollinators are attracted to them.
I am pretty sure that they were referring to the plant itself being blue (like leaves and stems), not the flowers.
Re: Why blue animals are so rare
#49Hmm, interesting. I thought it was like with popsicles, how the blue ones get eaten first.
Re: Why blue animals are so rare
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
One of the best ways to improve crop yields via genetic engineering might be to create black plants.
If that was optimal, I would expect it would be the standard by now. Not through genetic engineer, but through basic evolution over millions of years.
Evolution is optimizing for survival, not crop yield.